Two ancient Hand Stitching Clamps. The one on the left is the traditional Harness Makers & Leatherworkers Clamp Providing capacity for large objects to be sewn. The one on the right with the central leg is the traditional Saddlers Clamp. (Although in essence they were used by all parties). These two belonged to my Great Grandfather (maternal) I am in my late 70's so they are well over a 100 years old & should be Museum pieces. However they are both still in use.

Hale & Co. are returning to wholesaling as main method of making sales. Therefore, Hale & Co. are clearing loose stock. Half-Off Sale applies ONLY to items on SALE LIST. Minimum order is $750. Items sold on first-come, first-serve policy. When items on List are sold, all goods are again full price. Sale ends on 30th. November or when items on Sale List are sold, whichever is sooner. Download the List of Hajf Price Tools & equipment here

We Are Associating with Hale & Co, & other Leather companies to provide The best tools, materials, information & Technical instructions. This venture will bring back some of the lost tools & accessories that are not presently available together with some missing fittings. Quality will be the key feature here with a return to the old hand making procedures using the finest available leather.

NOTE. These all Professional Tools manufactured by Barnsley & Co. UK & not the cheap type of tools often supplied with home assembly kits. The distributer is Hale & Co. USA. Website. http://www.haleandco.com.

The Leather Instruction Manuals demonstrating all the Old Craft Skills are already available else where on this site, (at least the first 4 that are finished are). If you want to know more Click HereTo place an order for a Manual or all 4 Manuals Click Here

To View Pictures of some of the Quality tools in the Tool List, Click Here.

The Following Tool List is a Beginners Kit Put together by Hale & Co Specifically for beginners & purchasers of my Leather Instruction Manuals & customers finding it difficult to source all these diverse tools in one place. This Tool Kit is not yet complete & there are pictures of some of these tools below the List. POA (Price On Aplication).

* Barnsley, and Hale & Co. are working hard to revive all of the tools . Note. All sizes of tools & all measurements are in Feet & Inches.

Edge Stain. (Traditional Powdered Dye). T give a better finish if buck fat is applied while the stain is still damp.

Spirit. (to add to the powdered dye). This produces a solution that can be stored. mixing the powdered dye with water is also an option but this will go stagnant & prove wasteful. (I wont mention the revolting smell). There are application problems with using a water base especially with light coloured leather.

Mutton Tallow.

Fish Oil.

Pine Pitch.

Gum Arabic.

Gum Tragacanth.

Casein.

Copal Resin.

Damar Resin.

Shellac, Amber Flake.

Shellac, Bleached Granule

Pictures Of some of the tools in the above list

From left to right

Top, an awl with a chuck, (6200) this is popular as awls can be easily changed, you can easily remove a broken blade, I would however cut off the end knob as with a chuck at the front this awl will be too long to site comfortably in a hand.

Two awl hafts fitted with diamond Hand Sewing Blades, (6130f) are much lighter in the hand. An awl haft. (000) A round Marking Awl.(6010) Last Right, a Paste Fitters Hammer (000) (used for tapping & rubbing down seams & turnovers).

Middle, A Right Handed Skiving Knife. (4080) (If anyone is Left Handed like me you need to order a Left Handed version). It is also more comfortable to use these if you bind the handle with a piece of soft leather, but don't make it too thick or it stops the knife from being used at a low angle. A No.1 & No.2 Edge Shaves (The traditional Saddlers Curved variety). (8165 & 8166) These are more comfortable to hold & use than the cheaper short & straight ones that are available. A Small two legged Creaser. (000) Ideal for Turned Edge Wallets & Purses, (It provided a thinner line close to a turned edge than the heavier Screw Creaser). A Small Single Crease Iron. (B8240). A Screw Crease Iron. (B8246). (No left Handed version has ever been made) but it is possible to get an Engineer to reverse the screw & make the reverse leg shorter. By far the best creaser for Cut Edge Straps for both Saddlery & Leather Work. A Large Bodkin. (6020).

A well made Snobs Hammer, (7060). This should only be used to fold Buckle ends on Straps, Hammering Seams on Piped Handbags or Piped & turned Luggage, etc. Using it as an alternative to a mallet only dents the convex head of the hammer which then leaves an impression on the face of the leather. (Especially if water has been added to make it more pliable), come to that it does not improve the punches it was used on.

All Punches in the Range fit the Punch Holder shown far right (B4342) Bottom Picture

The Punch Pliers are far superior to the cheap 6 Way Rotating Head Punch Pliers the Handles of which strain with use & stops the punches from passing through the Leather. (Sure you can place a scrap of leather underneath but that wastes time).

A Set of 4 Harness Pricking or Stitching Irons in the 3 sizes that most Leather Workers use. From Left to Right, a No.6 Iron (B8566). A No.7 Iron (B8567). A No.8 Iron B8568). A Short No.8 Iron. (B85678). For those unfamiliar with the grading the Numbers 6-7-8 refers to the number of stitches per inch & this also matches the numbers for the stitch settings on any sewing machine. UK Saddlers & Leather Workers use these Irons for straight line stitch marking as opposed to a stitching Wheel as favoured by UK & USA Amateur Leatherworkers. (UK Saddlers do use a wheel on curved lines when making Saddles), But all edge seams are done with an iron. The main difference between the Saddler & a Leather Worker is that they use smaller Stitches namely 9-10-11-12, With 12 to the inch being their main choice.

Unfortunately no Portmanteau Irons (Reverse Irons) are available for the time being These Irons are for required for Corner Stitching Boxes or cases & again this technique is explained in Manual No.1

An excellent Plough Gauge with Brass Roller & Ferrule (8145). Cutting strap Blanks from a Bridle Shoulder or Half Butt with this professional tool is far easier & superior to the cheap Wooden Draw Strap Cutter. It will certainly Outlast it I am still using Great Grandfathers.

Incidentally My Manual No.1 contains a quick & easy to use “Strip Costing” method which shows how to cost each width cut from a Shoulder, Butt or Side. ( It also provides a full Material Assessment guide for working out the exact amount of leather used in any article & that includes the leather waste which You will have paid for & the cost of that should be passed on to the customer.

You can also assess the material costing for a customer with only a set of patterns. This will eliminate loss of profit where a customer demands a quote prior to placing an order or loosing an order because the guessed price was too high. This could be vital if that lost order was a large order or a repeat order.

Hale & Co. Can also supply Top Quality Hides from Bakers Tannery UK.

It has taken the best part of a year & a lot of co-operation between us & a Major UK Tool Manufacturer to collect & offer this kit of Professional Top Quality Tools which at present has still to be finished as there are certain items that we have still to get made. (Some of this equipment has not been available for many years, ( see the Stitching Clamps on the left). Yes there are clamps available but they are cut from a solid block of wood, they are heavy & cumbersome & nothing like my lightweight versions. But we will eventually get them made. Some of the tools listed are in very short supply & stocks may well run out.